SixtyFour
5 reviews liked by SixtyFour
BioShock Infinite
2013
I would've given this game a 3 - 3.5 stars prior to playing the first two games, but after playing 1&2 I have to bump this game wayyyyyyy down. The politics of these games have always been confused at best, but at least 1&2 had environment and atmosphere going for it.
This game though? Oh man.
I was young at the time I played this game and couldn't approach the theming of this game with the appropriate level of nuance (especially with regards to its political messaging) it required, but being older and reflecting on it, man did this game fall flat LOL.
This game is enlightened centrism and "both sides" at its finest! By trying to play both sides, it completely eats shit and fails to stand for anything which feels like a pretty big failure for a game that's supposed to be a political satire/critique lol. It doesn't even matter whether or not I agree with the game's politics or not because it doesn't say anything of substance -- there's nothing to agree or disagree with!
Go play Disco Elysium if you're interested in the intersection of political criticism and video games.
This game though? Oh man.
I was young at the time I played this game and couldn't approach the theming of this game with the appropriate level of nuance (especially with regards to its political messaging) it required, but being older and reflecting on it, man did this game fall flat LOL.
This game is enlightened centrism and "both sides" at its finest! By trying to play both sides, it completely eats shit and fails to stand for anything which feels like a pretty big failure for a game that's supposed to be a political satire/critique lol. It doesn't even matter whether or not I agree with the game's politics or not because it doesn't say anything of substance -- there's nothing to agree or disagree with!
Go play Disco Elysium if you're interested in the intersection of political criticism and video games.
BioShock Infinite
2013
This review contains spoilers
Genuinely the worst game in the Bioshock franchise and an incredibly frustrating experience. I replayed the game recently taking it slow and absorbing the atmosphere to give it the most fair shake possible. I think the art design and environmental artists in this game deserve immense praise for the work they did fully realizing Columbia and adopting the aesthetics of early 1900s art and advertising as well as reflecting the racist caricatures that were spread during that era. Unfortunately this incredible art and aesthetic is dedicated to a story I find completely underwhelming and lacking in so many places. Booker is a non-character unless you pay attention to audio logs where every bit of his character and who he is as a person is told to you clearly. How anyone thought that Booker for all of his actions in Wounded Knee should be a blank slate boring character is beyond me. Accompanying that you have the worst elements of multi-dimensional storytelling rearing its ugly head from the moment you are tasked by Daisy Fitzroy with supplying her revolution with arms all the way to the end. By the conclusion it turns out none of your actions actually mattered because you end up erasing yourself, Elizabeth, and Comstock (who turns out to be another version of Booker) from reality. Somehow this still got a DLC about these characters who unless I misunderstood something in this "genius" story should have been erased from reality. My thoughts on that are in a separate review. I think what I find most offensive about this game is the way it was held up as an incredibly intelligent story when it came out by major figures in the industry like Cliff Bleszinski when in reality it's a very muddied and confused product with too many things going on to satisfyingly resolve any of them in any way besides erasing every key character from reality by the end. In short, play it for the aesthetics and art, not the story. My experience was mostly positive when examining the historical inspirations and art of the world only to be brought down by a mediocre story and incredibly bland shooter gameplay.
Bioshock 2 has players return to Rapture, after the events of BioShock 1, in the form of a big daddy, subject Delta. The stage is very quickly set as we meet our new baddie Sofia Lamb, who is the mother of our little sister, Eleanor. Sofia takes Eleanor away from us and after 10 years have passed, sunject Delta sets out into Rapture once more to find her.
It was a delight to return to rapture and see some new environments and meet some more of the influential characters that shaped them. Though the story doesn't quite match its predecessor, it was still a fairly good time, though there were certain aspects of it that didn't make a lot of sense to me.
The gameplay takes what BioShock did and just refines it, making it feel a bit nicer and tightens the gunplay, which is good as there seems to be a bit more action in this game. It was cool to play as a big daddy and use the iconic drill, as well as buddy up with little sisters to gather adam throughout the game.
I feel like some of the objectives, especially early game, were just re-treading familiar water as the first game, with acquiring your first plasmids and the research camera.
Rapture was as enthralling as ever and is now even more decrepit than the first game as more time has passed. I liked to turn off the objective waypoint as it makes it much more immersive to navigate rapture using signs and the environment.
Bioshock 2 is definitely worth playing for fans of the first, even if it does fall a little short, but interesting characters and a better ending than the first game make it worth it.
It was a delight to return to rapture and see some new environments and meet some more of the influential characters that shaped them. Though the story doesn't quite match its predecessor, it was still a fairly good time, though there were certain aspects of it that didn't make a lot of sense to me.
The gameplay takes what BioShock did and just refines it, making it feel a bit nicer and tightens the gunplay, which is good as there seems to be a bit more action in this game. It was cool to play as a big daddy and use the iconic drill, as well as buddy up with little sisters to gather adam throughout the game.
I feel like some of the objectives, especially early game, were just re-treading familiar water as the first game, with acquiring your first plasmids and the research camera.
Rapture was as enthralling as ever and is now even more decrepit than the first game as more time has passed. I liked to turn off the objective waypoint as it makes it much more immersive to navigate rapture using signs and the environment.
Bioshock 2 is definitely worth playing for fans of the first, even if it does fall a little short, but interesting characters and a better ending than the first game make it worth it.
Minecraft
2011
If I could play three games for the rest of my life, the first would be Minecraft and I could manage fine foreiting my other picks. It's a rare singleplayer "forever" game that's stood the test of time remarkably well. It's most likely the greatest game ever made, defining the medium as a whole culturally instantly since release - blowing the sandbox genre wide open, pioneering the lets play/content creator concept, the evergreen free update model, independent games biggest success story: it's done it all. Say what you will. It's fucking Minecraft.
Sonic Generations
2011
this game is such a confusing experience because when it's good, it's really fucking good but when it's bad, it's BAAAAAAAAD.
the good aspects truly show Sega's understanding of love for the series. the stage choices are great, the remixed tracks are soooo good, and the gameplay is some of the best in the series. i firmly believe this is the best "Classic" Sonic has felt barring Mania. the initial cutscene is also super charming and sets the setting well.
but then the bad is oppressive. 9 fucking levels, 18 if you count the different styles, and that is IT. the rest is padding with challenges that either provide a bit of fun or are so backwards they make you wanna pull your hair out. the incentive to beating them outside of advancing the game, is to get some arbitrary skills that i never once used. i know you could argue that i'm not experiencing the game to its fullest but i just didn't feel any drive to get them or use them.
the story is non-existent barring some cushiony cutscenes that basically go "Gee, I wonder what is happening!" only for Eggman in the final stage to explain. speaking of, this game has one of the worst fucking final bosses of all time. no explanation, you're just thrown in there with the bodiless voices of the Sonic friends shouting at you. you attack like 3 times and bam, no conclusion cutscene for the fight. just a little jump to the party.
Generations also marks the beginning of trends the Sonic franchise has going forward that i just fucking hate. like the arbitrary distinction of "Classic" and "Modern". i felt it fine when fans defined the different eras but to see it officially always rubbed me wrong. that and Classic Sonic just being a silent cartoon? why does he pantomime? this stupid decision carried forward up to new stuff like Superstars where NO ONE talks and each cutscene is painful to watch. but that's a different game.
i don't know, in spite of all the negatives, i still liked it! this is my second time beating it, and i still can't say i hate it. but man, is it weird. very weird.
the good aspects truly show Sega's understanding of love for the series. the stage choices are great, the remixed tracks are soooo good, and the gameplay is some of the best in the series. i firmly believe this is the best "Classic" Sonic has felt barring Mania. the initial cutscene is also super charming and sets the setting well.
but then the bad is oppressive. 9 fucking levels, 18 if you count the different styles, and that is IT. the rest is padding with challenges that either provide a bit of fun or are so backwards they make you wanna pull your hair out. the incentive to beating them outside of advancing the game, is to get some arbitrary skills that i never once used. i know you could argue that i'm not experiencing the game to its fullest but i just didn't feel any drive to get them or use them.
the story is non-existent barring some cushiony cutscenes that basically go "Gee, I wonder what is happening!" only for Eggman in the final stage to explain. speaking of, this game has one of the worst fucking final bosses of all time. no explanation, you're just thrown in there with the bodiless voices of the Sonic friends shouting at you. you attack like 3 times and bam, no conclusion cutscene for the fight. just a little jump to the party.
Generations also marks the beginning of trends the Sonic franchise has going forward that i just fucking hate. like the arbitrary distinction of "Classic" and "Modern". i felt it fine when fans defined the different eras but to see it officially always rubbed me wrong. that and Classic Sonic just being a silent cartoon? why does he pantomime? this stupid decision carried forward up to new stuff like Superstars where NO ONE talks and each cutscene is painful to watch. but that's a different game.
i don't know, in spite of all the negatives, i still liked it! this is my second time beating it, and i still can't say i hate it. but man, is it weird. very weird.